London, December 2 The British government announced on the 2nd that the country’s regulatory agency has approved the commissioning of a novel coronavirus vaccine developed by German biotechnology company in cooperation with Pfizer Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. of the United States, which is also the first coronavirus vaccine approved for use in the United Kingdom.
The British government plans to start providing vaccination services throughout the UK next week. Priority will be given to nursing home personnel, people over 80 years old, and front-line health and social workers, before providing vaccination services to other groups. At that time, the order of vaccination will be determined according to age and infection risk.
British Health Secretary Matthew Hancock said on the same day that although vaccination will start next week, mass vaccination will not wait until next year.
German biotechnology and Pfizer of the United States disclosed data on phase III clinical trials of the vaccine in November, and the vaccine is more than 90% effective. However, this vaccine needs to be stored in an environment of minus 70 degrees Celsius, and cold chain logistics may become a problem for many countries to reserve, distribute and inoculate the vaccine.
